The suburb shares its name with Croydon, a large district and borough in the south of London in the United Kingdom.

Their focus of tribal land was believed to be centred on Concord and stretched east to the swampland of Long Cove Creek.

The land away from the river shores provided fruits, berries and edible plants as well as possums and kangaroos, which were killed both for food and their skins.

Within a year or so, a rough land route had been established between the two settlements, traversing through the territory of the Cadigal, Wangal and Burramattagal people.

This rough track later became the main artery of the expanding Greater Sydney and, as the northern boundary of what is now Croydon, influenced modern settlement in the area.

[7] The first land grant in the Croydon area was to Captain John Townson in April 1793 who received 100 acres (0.4 km2) on Parramatta Road stretching west from Iron Cove Creek and south to what is now Queen Street.

However, his house was burnt down by a group of indigenous people (possibly led by Pemulwuy) in 1797 and he didn't return to Croydon, establishing himself in neighbouring Ashfield,[5][7] and selling his property to John Palmer.

It later became part of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, the current boundaries of which give an idea of the extent of the Hordern property.

[8] The College, including Shubra Hall, the main school building and the Meta Street entrance gates, is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.

This in turn led to local governments forming in the two areas with the land divided roughly equidistant between the two centres.

Because Five Dock was actually a long way north some confusion ensued and Ashfield Council renamed the station in 1876 to Croydon after the suburb in London.

Many houses in the areas surrounding Edwin Street North and Elizabeth St are also of the Victorian style popular in the 1880s and 90s.

The Malvern Hill Estate was subdivided in 1909 and designed as a model suburb like Haberfield with wide tree-lined streets and houses built in the then-modern Federation style (a variation of Arts and crafts).

Part of the development was the Strand shopping strip, which has survived intact to this day and is now heritage listed in its entirety.

[13] From the end of World War II, Croydon saw significant growth with both population increases and suburban expansion.

In that period, there was a major boom in residential development as people moved from the inner city to the outer suburbs in search of more affordable housing and larger homes.

Many houses built during this era were typical of post-war suburban development, featuring modest bungalows and semi-detached homes.

A TAB, two real estate agencies, two grocery stores and various restaurants, cafés and bakeries are among the shops on The Strand.

After remaining unoccupied for nearly 10 years, it was replaced in the early 2000s with a community health centre and two aged care facilities: Holy Spirit Croydon and The Brighton.

Croydon features many of the inner west's most sought-after addresses due to its grand homes, larger blocks and family friendly streetscapes.

Like the nearby Appian Way area in Burwood and the 'garden suburb' Haberfield, the aim of the development was to have modern houses on large blocks of land with wide streets.

Also adjacent is the Bede Spillane Dog Park, situated on the corner of Croydon Road and Queen Street.

[33] Croydon still retains many of the characteristics of the broader Inner West region of Sydney, including a high proportion of residents born overseas.